Conditions

Shoes

Footwear Guide

It is reported that up to one in every six people--have
trouble with their feet, often resulting from improperly-fitting shoes. This
represents a huge public health risk.

We’re all susceptible to foot and ankle injuries,
but we can reduce our risk for them by wearing properly-fitting shoes that
conform to the natural shape of our feet. In selecting shoes, keep this basic
principle of good fit in mind: Your feet should never be forced to conform to
the shape of a pair of shoes.

Although style is often a key consideration in
choosing a pair of shoes, the most important quality to look for in
shoes-from a practical standpoint-is durable construction that will protect
your feet and keep them comfortable. Shoes that do not fit can cause bunions,
corns, calluses, hammertoes, metatarsalgia and other disabling foot
disorders.

Recommendations for Footwear

There are various tips to help you reduce your risk of foot problems. You
might find this guide useful when you’re shopping for shoes for you and your
family:

Have both feet
measured every time you purchase shoes. Your foot size increases as you
get older.

Try to wear a
shoe with a slightly lower heel ideally no higher than 2 1/4 inches.

Try on new shoes
at the end of the day. Your feet normally swell and become larger after
standing or sitting during the day.

Shoes should be
fitted carefully to your heel as well as your toes.

Try on both
shoes.

There should be
1/2-inch space from the end of your longest toe to the end of the shoe.

Fig.2. Radiograph of foot squeezed into a high heeled shoe.

Fit new shoes to
your largest foot. Most people have one foot larger than the other.

Walk around in
the shoes to make sure they fit well and feel comfortable.

If you wear
Insoles or orthoses make sure that your shoes fit comfortably with these inside.

Sizes vary among
shoe brands and styles. Judge a shoe by how it fits on your foot not by
the marked size.

When the shoe is
on your foot, you should be able to freely wiggle all of your toes.

If the shoes
feel too tight. don't buy them. There is no such thing as a
"break-in period."

Most high
heeled-shoes have a pointed. narrow toe box that crowds the toes and
forces them into an unnatural triangular shape. As heel height
increases, the pressure under the ball of the foot may double, placing
greater pressure on the forefoot as it is forced into the pointed toe
box.